Final Fantasy XIV
by kujatenshi1963
Summary: *shounen-ai* 17 years after Meteor and the Sephiroth incident, it seems Sephiroth left a mark on the Earth that no one expected: A daughter. Now Vincent Valentine and Cid Highwind have charged themselves with the duty of protecting her from herself and a
1. Revelations

"16 years ago the Planet faced its greatest challenge at the hands of a Shin-Ra project named Sephiroth. He planed on destroying the world and creating it anew as a God. A misfit band of warriors, lead by the now famous Cloud Strife, stopped him.  
"God that is cliché and boring!"  
"Sephi, it's a research paper not a fiction essay."  
"It's not the subject, it's my writing. I make it sound like Sephiroth was black and Cloud was white."  
"You just lost me there, Ikirumata."  
Ikirumata Sephiko sighed, "I don't mean skin color. I mean straight good and evil."  
"You're the only person who thinks Sephiroth had a just cause. I would keep that view to myself, especially this week, what with the celebration of the saving of the planet from your hero there."  
"He's not my hero and other things are happening this week too you know! Such as my birthday, Nara! I hope you got me a good present!"  
"You're having a party I assume?"  
"Yep it's gonna be wicked!"  
"You better get hurrying with that paper otherwise you're going to fail."  
  
A pair of cold aqua eyes stared at her from the dark. They seemed to glow with some hidden energy.  
"Born the day of Death, one in my spirit. I'll not return to the Planet until I'm through!"  
Sephiko awoke with a gasp. She shot up in bed and clutched the covers. She'd had this dream before and it was bugging her. It wouldn't be a big deal if didn't happen every year at this time, the week of her birthday, the week of Salvation from Meteor, Salvation from Sephiroth. She shook from the shiver that ran up her back.  
"What does it mean?"  
  
The Neo-Midgar High School was located where the old sector 7 slum had been. Only the teachers remembered the day the plate had dropped down on the sector, crushing the slum beneath it.  
Sephiko raced through the blue double doors of the cafeteria to the table in the far corner. Today was the beginning of the week of celebration and on the last day was her birthday. She smiled as she sat down next to Nara.  
"Okay, I wanna know what you got me!"  
"Sephiko! You can't know then it's not a surprise!"  
"Feh! Hey, isn't that Strife?"  
Nara looked up from the Tapioca pudding infront of her to see a tall young man with brown spiky hair strutting about as if he were a rooster in  
a hen house. "Yeah?"  
"Hide me!" Sephiko squeaked as he turned their way.  
"Oh, not the annual-"  
"Ikirumajo!"  
"That's Ikirumata, Strife. What do you want?" Sephiko scowled as she  
poked at her cup of ramen noodles  
"I'm telling you, don't pull anything like last year. This is the  
17th anniversary of the Salvation from the Meteor."  
"Yeah? Well it's the 17th anniversary of my birth, so shut it! I'm  
not gonna listen to you! And I never pulled those pranks! That was the guys' idea because they hate you for acting like you own the place! Stop  
being such an anal bastard!"  
"Bastard? Me? I wouldn't be talking!"  
Sephiko felt a twitch inside her head. He didn't just say that.  
"Watch what you say now, Kumo Strife."  
"What? That you are a low-life bastard?"  
With a sickening thud, Sephiko's fist met the side of the little  
punk's head and with another thud he hit the floor.  
"Shoulda seen that coming, Strife," Nara said with a smile.  
"Ikirumata, Sephiko, Please report to the office immediately."  
There were a few groans from the people who had started to watch the  
fight and a worried glance exchanged between Nara and Sephiko.  
"Darn it, I'll deal with you later, Strife."  
"Don't turn your back on me Ikiru-" He stopped suddenly as he watched her pull her duster on as she walked out of the double doors with her long  
brown waving behind her. She looks like him he thought to himself. He  
started to get up only to be kicked in the back of the head by Nara.  
"If she gets kicked out, you are dead, Strife. I don't care who your  
parents are."  
  
Ikirumata Fujin sat on the sofa rocking herself back and forth as the man in the red cape looked at the pictures on the mantle. They both turned  
as they heard the door click open.  
"Mom! Mom I'm home, what's wrong?" the teen yelled pulling off her boots as she entered the house. After a minute of struggling and hopping about, she wiggled the shoes off and tossed her backpack down. She rushed  
into the living room.  
"Sephiko, I want you to meet someone," Fujin began as she nodded to  
the man in the red cape.  
"Vincent Valentine," Sephiko said trance-like. Fujin looked at her daughter with a look of shock. Vincent had refused to allow his picture be  
taken for histoy books, magazines, papers or anything. Fujin couldn't  
comprehend how Sephiko knew him.  
"Yes. I am. Pleasure to meet you, Sephiko. You have some intresting eyes there," Vincent said in a cryptic tone. His voice was quiet but sort of rough sounding as if he hadn't spoken in years, which in a way was true.  
The thirty years sleeping in a coffin and having no one to talk to had  
taken it's toll on more than his voice; but also on his voice and mind.  
"They're natural."  
"If you have been exposed to massive amounts of Mako."  
"Who's to say I haven't?"  
"The law, miss."  
Sephiko twitched under the stare of his burgundey eyes, "Well, you're  
no better, explain those!"  
"They are the mark of my penence for my sins for which I must atone. Yours are a mark for those who recognize it to understand and fear. Your  
hairstyle is also interesting."  
Sephiko brushed her long bangs back and scowled at him, "So?"  
"Looks like the hairstyle of a man I once knew. He had the same eyes too. Same taste in clothing, black leather, that is without the tank top."  
She felt another twitch inside her and felt a bit dizy, "What do you  
want?"  
"To get you away from Midgar. Away from Jenova, or what's left of  
her."  
"What does that petrified, old hag have to do with me?"  
"That petrified, old hag may just be your grandmother, in a way."  
Sephiko felt her heart stop. The room was spinning now and her vision  
was turning red. She quickly closed her eyes. She needed to hold onto something before she fell, but it was too late, she felt herself falling. Then it all stopped and she opened her eyes to see Vincent holding her up.  
"You see, Ikirumata Sephiko, even your name says it. Live again  
Sephiroth will, through you, or so he believes."  
"What-what are you trying to say? That I am Sephiroth's child?"  
"Excatly."  
And with that, Sephiko fainted in his arms. 


	2. Expedition

Sephiko gathered her things into her backpack. The first thing she thought about before she left her room was her favorite pair of earrings. They were a yin-yang set she called them, a white crystal shard and a black crystal shard. She had bought them from a bizarre old woman on her 7th grade field trip to the city of the ancients. She had been told that the black one was from the crater and the white one from the bottom of the lake in the Capital of the Ancients. Sephiko had thought they were both from Bone village and not cared. She remembered slapping down the 76 gil to buy them and never looking back. She now put the earrings on and tossed her hair back to admire them momentarily. The second thing that came to mind was the need for a weapon. She looked longingly at all the weapons on the walls of her room. She was a sword collector and actually pretty good in fencing; she had gotten many first place ribbons from the Midgar tournaments. She closed her eyes and held her hands out infront of her. "Who do I bring?" She felt the power that dwelled in all weapons from each of the swords, but one in the far corner of her room called to her with immense power. She opened her eyes and walked over to it. It was really a very plain sword and the katana's handle was rather worn. She had actually bought it from a dark man in Wall Market when she was 15. It was extremely long and everyone else, her fencing friends that is, had deemed it unwieldy and impossible to use; but she had managed to wield it. It was nameless because she felt that it already had a name, someday she'd find out what it was. She pulled out the sheath she had gotten specially made for it and sheathed the long katana. She then tossed her backpack onto her back and then tried to strap the sheath to it, finding it almost impossible. She scowled, better ask mom to help, Gosh I'll look like a loser. Sephiko marched downstairs carrying the sword in its sheath. When she got downstairs, Vincent was on her like white on rice. "That sword, where did you get it?" "A freak show in Wall Market." Vincent scowled and turned away, "Masamune is not a toy, be wise." Fujin stifled a gasp as Sephiko held the sword infront of her. "You've seen it before, why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me anything! You knew it all!" Vincent looked a Fujin, "Sephiko, it wasn't supposed to be like this, you were never supposed to know, it just happens that we think he's, how shall we say, not quite dead yet." "So I have to leave." "Yes, if you'd please, it's a long way to Junon by Chocobo, even if it is a gold one. Damnit and I paid extra for it too." Sephiko sighed and rolled her eyes, "Bye mom. I'll write-" "Don't, I have to sever all ties with you, you can't remember me, you have to forget me." Sephiko raised her eyebrows, "Why?" "Because, I don't want to remember." Sephiko felt as if she had just been stabbed through her heart. Her own mother wanted nothing to do with her. It couldn't be because of this, her mother had always known who her father was, there had to be something that she didn't know that her mother and Vincent did. "O-okay, I see, well good bye Ikirumata Fujin, nice knowing you." Vincent opened the door for Sephiko and let the girl out. "That was harsh, Fujin, it's your fault too. You should have brought her to me sooner." "Just go, before I change my mind." "I'd be forced to kill you then." With that he exited the house leaving Fujin trembling alone.  
  
"Aw maaaaaaaan, we missed the boat, damnit!" "We weren't coming for that boat," Vincent said rolling his eyes as he bought another gold bangle for her at the Weapons shop. "That's an old blade you've got there, miss," the shopkeeper said as Sephiko turned around. "Did you get it from an antique weapons dealer?" "It's my father's," she said in a soft voice. The shopkeeper nodded politely as he handed the bag to Vincent. "She's a beautiful young girl to have for a daughter." "Oh she's not my daughter, she's my Granddaughter." The shopkeeper gave Vincent a quizzical look; "Well you sure found the fountain of youth." "Um, yes, blueberries, eat lots of them." Vincent said quickly as he took the bag. "Have a nice day." When they exited the store Vincent let out a sigh of relief. "Like anyone's gonna buy that story." Vincent looked to the cynical teen beside him; "Well I almost was, so deal with it." "What are you talking about?" "It's a long story, wait until the ride to Rocket Town." Vincent looked towards the edge of town to see a large airship. He smiled and led the confused Sephiko out of Junon. When she saw the ship she felt as if she was going to have a heart attack. The gangplank came down and a middle aged man stepped out of it. "Vincent! Hey did you get Sephiroth's whelp?" "I'd rather not be referred to as a whelp." "Um, yes, Cid, please this is Ikirumata Sephiko. Sephiko, this is Cid Highwind." "And that is that Highwind, eh?" "Yup the one and only," Cid said with a proud smile. "I feel dizzy," Sephiko mumbled as she fainted again. Vincent caught her just before she hit the ground and rolled his eyes. "What the (&% was that for?" "Cid, give me a hand and don't worry about it. She's had a tough day." The pilot came over and picked the girl up. He looked at Vincent and smiled, "D'you miss me?" "I was gone for only a few hours, Cid!" Cid gave the older man a quick peck on the cheek; "Yeah but I missed you." Vincent sighed then looked about quickly, "Come on get her onto the ship, we've got a few stops before we get to Cloud's." "Do we have to see that Witch?" "Lucrecia is not a witch." "You're right she's a #@$^% bitch. You still love her don't you? That's why you didn't miss me. I bet you stopped by her place before you picked the kid up." Vincent rolled his eyes again. Cid was the most possessive man he had ever met. As the man rambled on about Lucrecia, they boarded the Highwind and left for her cave.  
  
Behind a waterfall Lucrecia sat waiting for the Jenova inside her to let her die. She wanted to escape; she wanted to die, but the little bit of Jenova refused to let it happen. Suddenly she heard footsteps coming towards her. "Go away!" "Lucrecia, it's me, Vincent." "What do you want, you idiot?" "I want you to tell me if this is your granddaughter," he said as he shoved Sephiko forward. Lucrecia took a look at the girl and instantly Jenova responded. She felt herself in the girl before her host body. "Jenova moves. You must be his child." Sephiko looked nervously around the mako blue cavern as the woman moved closer to her. She stared the young girl in the eyes and looked as if she was staring into her soul. "I didn't know Mako eyes were genetically passed down." "I don't think they are, Lucrecia, I think that's Jenova," Vincent said softly. Lucrecia nodded and touched Sephiko's arm. "Be strong, child." Vincent was about to turn and leave when he heard Lucrecia clear her throat. "Yes?" "You told me he was dead. You told me 17 years ago that he was dead." "Well he is now," Vincent snapped as he stormed out the cave's entrance with Sephiko in tow. Lucrecia stared for a little while then sat down on the rocks. "Can you let me die now, Jenova?" 


End file.
